Czech Hiker Found After A Month In New Zealand Mountain Hut

A Czech hiker who went missing a month ago has been found sheltering in a hut in the mountains of southern New Zealand.

The woman was found by a search team near Lake Mackenzie on Wednesday and taken to hospital.

The woman told police that she and her partner, also thought to be Czech, had set out to hike on 24 July: four days later, he fell down a slope and died, she said. She made it to the hut and stayed in place for the next month amid heavy snowfall.

No search was launched as the couple had neither registered their hike with authorities nor were carrying emergency locator beacons.

But after the Czech consulate reported the couple missing, police found their car and used a search helicopter to help locate the woman.